I am almost certain that almost all ramen places use MSG or tons of salt to make up for it.Sadly, this is the reason why I don't go to my favorite midtown ramen places for lunch anymore because I can never function properly at work after the meal.

It's pretty unlikely that a place that makes its own meat broth would use MSG, since the meat and/or seafood/kelp already giving the broth all its umami. MSG is more commonly used in commercial/mass-produced, instant ramen to boost the meat flavor. It's just not an ingredient one finds in ramen shops generally, though there might be some MSG in other condiments that might be used in finishing the bowl.

>It's just not an ingredient one finds in ramen shops generallyWhile there are many ramen shops in Japan that do not use any MSG, there are tons of other shops that make their own broth and use MSG as one of the ingredients.

This is an interesting book about Ramen shops in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba, and Saitama, which do not use MSG.